This Cold City Isn't Home
by SweetMusicAng3l
Summary: Jak II AU where Jak found Keira instead of the Krimzon Guards after the rift. They work at the stadium; Daxter and Samos are still lost. Jak and Keira have both been struggling to admit their true feelings to one another. Keira invents a new mechanical piece, which spurs deep conversation between the two. They've bonded in the past months and experience their first kiss together.


**Full credit for the artwork that inspired this fic goes to tumblr user varethane, posted onto the darkwarriorproject blog on tumblr. The picture won't be included in the fic since I do not have permission to repost it outside of tumblr, but I have included the link so that you can all see the original picture that inspired this fic! Varethane was kind enough to respond to my doodle prompt; it's a great piece of artwork and if you are into Jak and Daxter and have a tumblr account I highly recommend following varethane as well as darkwarriorproject!**

LINK TO PHOTO:

post/110836069687/cutes

"I'm glad you're taking an interest in this stuff! Now check out THIS bit…"

Keira moved her hand from the cylinders on her right and on top of a piece to her very left that seemed unfamiliar to Jak. Jak stared at it wide eyed, sure that Keira was testing his newly gained knowledge on the mechanics of Haven City's vehicles once again. Ever since they had landed in Haven City with no one but each other, he was eager to learn everything he could about not only the city's new vehicles, but the mechanic herself. And in their few months of solitary together, he had learned a lot. And he _felt_ a lot of new things for her too. Things he was waiting for the right moment to admit. But with their current circumstances, no moment seemed like the right one.

Jak and Keira had been spit out of the rift ring only a few months ago. They were lucky enough to bump into each other as they were wandering around the new world they had entered within a matter of hours. Samos and Daxter hadn't been so lucky; their whereabouts were still unknown after months of searching. In the meantime, Keira's mechanical abilities hadn't gone unnoticed and she was swiftly hired by the city's stadium to do repairs on racing zoomers. The drivers were reckless, and the vehicles were poorly built, so the machines had a tendency of blowing up quite often – meaning there was enough work for herself and an assistant - Jak.

Keira had been showing Jak the ropes, or rather, the gears, of fixing vehicles in Haven City. Jak had slowly begun learning every in and out there was to the machines he saw hovering and flying above the city's skyline. And he seemed to have a knack for the trade too – although he'd much rather be racing the zoomers than constantly fixing them. He wasn't _nearly_ at the same level of expertise as Keira, but under her supervision and tutelage he made impressive repairs for a novice. With the both of them working, they were able to maintain a sizeable income which gave them more time to look for their lost family and friends.

Their little life in the stadium's garage hidden away from the main entrance wasn't as blissful or exciting as their home in Sandover Village was. They were left alone to finish their work for the most part, which suited them just fine. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves – Haven City was still a mystery to them. The only action they seemed to get was hearing the occasional murmurs from behind their shop curtain from nosy Krimzon guards, mumbling something about "the kid" and "dark warrior project". Keira didn't want to find out what any of that meant. She had a bad feeling about the burgundy armored men pacing around her shop, and she wanted to leave it at that for now. She had seen what they were capable of doing in her time spent wandering the streets as she looked for a familiar face – and she didn't want them to do anything to the only one she had found.

Jak and Keira were lucky to have time travelled together; they were even luckier to find some work within the high-class region that they were sent reeling in to. Jak didn't want to know what might have happened to him if he had ended up in the lower class section, or worse. Keira's talents were well suited to their environment – without her, he'd likely be faring as well as those who were banished from the city under the iron-rule of the Baron, the guy who seemed to be in charge of this place.

Flashing back to reality, Jak still hadn't realized he had lost himself in his mind for a few moments as he struggled to remember what bit he was supposed to be looking at. _Is this the alternator…? No, it's too square for that; plus the alternator is more cylindrical… The turbocharger is smaller than whatever this thing is, and if it was the oil filter it would be further back… It's_ _definitely_ _not the spark plug…Oh precursors…_

Keira giggled at Jak's puzzled expression, not realizing he was wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"It's a _new_ piece that I designed, silly!"

Jak's head snapped back to attention and flushed with embarrassment at his uncertainty. _So this wasn't a test, thank the precursors!_

Keira's eyes dazzled with a teasing look that said "got ya!" as her lips curled into a smile. Jak couldn't help but wrinkle his nose and purse his lips playfully at her jest before nodding back towards the piece, looking at Keira for an explanation. His eye brows furrowed in confusion, and he placed a finger thoughtfully on his chin as he attempted to figure out exactly what this new piece did.

Keira read Jak's body language expertly and knew what he was trying to convey. Jak had remained mute, and Keira didn't mind at all. She wasn't expecting him to become a chatter box like Daxter, but her father had mentioned that it was a possibility that he might grow out of it one day. She was glad he didn't – she secretly enjoyed communicating in a language that only they could understand, based on nothing but body language and pure emotion that words alone couldn't always convey. It was nice, knowing what he needed based on his reflexes; it was simple.

Looking over and seeing his perplexed expression reminded her that she still had to speak out loud so that he knew what was going on though; her body language alone didn't cut it for Jak when it came to complicated manners like mechanical parts and machines. From his contorted face she gathered that he was still clueless about her design and needed a hint.

"Remember back at home how my zoomer would overheat too much?" Keira inquired, waving towards the nose of the vehicle. Jak nodded in acknowledgement, remembering how close he and Daxter were to blowing up in the lava tubes to Rock Village, and the ones leading to Gol and Maia's Citadel.

"Well, since it seems that there's no power cells where we are right now that I can use to power a cooling system, I had to come up with a new method to bring the temperature down."

The piece gleamed up at Jak, noticeably different from the rest of the engine. It was square but somehow clung to the hulking mess of parts in front of him, presumably from some expert welding done by Keira.

"I call it a heat exchanger! It's nothing too fancy, but machines aren't as complicated as you think."

Jak rose an eyebrow to her. Keira laughed.

"I'm serious! It will be no time at all before you can start working on these things yourself!"

She dug her head back under the hood of the zoomer and continued on as her voice was muffled by the echoes of clinking metal.

"It's still a work in progress of course. That client of mine, Erol was it? He was wanting some modifications done to his racing zoomer to make him faster. From what I've seen he's good at racing, but without anything to cool down his machines the chances that a zoomer _won't_ blow up on its rider if they go too fast or fly for too long is pretty slim. All part of the excitement of racing I guess." She huffed.

Keira stuck her left hand out and Jak filled it with a wrench. She gave the engine beneath her a few good cranks to secure her new piece into place in a spot that Jak couldn't see from where he was standing.

"Racing is already a dangerous enough business as it is with the way current zoomers are designed. I _would_ suggest that _you_ even enter it! _IF_ and ONLY _if_ it were safer." She chided Jak, seeing that his eyes had lit up at the mention of racing as she quickly popped her head out from underneath the bright orange zoomer.

Looking up briefly to ask for another tool, she noticed that Jak had a gloomy look on his face.

"Hey, I never said never! But we need to keep a low profile for the time being, remember?" She tweaked the heat exchanger with the wrench to fine tune it, and gave the engine a few good clangs before it started humming quietly. Seeing that the zoomer engine was at least still _functional_ with her new add on, she shrieked with glee at her accomplishment.

Waving a hand at her new masterpiece, she excitedly looked to Jak. "I'm willing to bet that if I can perfect this design, we could revolutionize transportation here in Haven City!"

Keira returned to the real world with a triumphant grin on her face, grease now smeared across her cheek from leaning in too close to the parts under the hood.

"And once I do, _then_ you can have your face plastered all over the city as Haven's racing champion!"

Jak had a doubtful look on his face. His lip pouted and he bashfully looked at the grease stained floor. _But what if I'm not good at racing? I've never really tried before._

"Hey!" Keira piped up. "It's nothing to get too worked up about! It takes practice; you'll get there! And, if my new heat exchanger works out, I'll be able to sell the design and make us a bit of money. You'll finally be able to safely race! Not to mention look for Daxter and Daddy in your free time, since I wouldn't be needing an assistant anymore; the heat exchanger will prevent so many machines from blowing up!" She explained.

Jak smiled, clearly happy that they were able to support themselves still and for what was looking like a far ways into the future. They had something close to what they could call a home, stable jobs, and they were making quite a bit of profit from it…

He suddenly became somber, and looked into Keira's bright green eyes.

 _It's weird being the adults now, especially in this place…_

Keira hopped up onto her work bench directly across from the zoomer in progress, mindlessly using a rag on the table to wipe the grease from the wrench.

"I know." She sighed. "It's weird. I miss daddy. Makers, I even miss DAXTER at this point..."

Jak gripped his arm and kicked at a discarded rag on the floor.

"I know; you miss them too, huh?"

Her shoulders slumped. "I know we keep looking Jak. And I know it's tough searching for them for months on end with what seems like no results…"

Keira slowly trailed off. They had been so alone, for so long. They didn't know anyone. They had to grow up and forget about their lives on the sandy beaches, mysterious jungles, snowy mountains and lava caves and trade it for something they didn't ever expect – and all just to pay bills at the end of the month.

Silence enveloped the room for a few moments with this realization. It got eerily quiet.

Keira knew she _literally_ had to be the one to break the silence between them. Attempting to perk up their mood, she chimed, "But, you know… it is nice to be spending time together. Just the two of us."

Jak nodded in agreement, his eyes sparkling up at her. The gloom he was experiencing quickly fell away as he looked up at the one ray of sunshine that could always pierce through it. Keira cocked her head at him to join her on the bench. He gently closed the hood and secured the latch, the humming becoming gentler from the muffling effect of the closed door. He jumped up onto her right and scooted in close to her. He made a motion for her to come closer to him, too.

Getting the hint, she slowly leaned her head on his shoulder. He tilted his head into hers and they breathed together. He could tell Keira was happy to be near him. He knew because he felt the same way. He brushed away a piece of grease stained hair away from her face as a comforting gesture, to let her know she wasn't alone. But she abruptly shifted beneath him and whispered, "I just wish it was the four of us again…back in the village…"

Feeling her suddenly tremble beneath him, he knew that she was upset. No…she was homesick. Their surroundings weren't helping either - he saw her glance out the door at the bleak, grey, looming stone stadium. It wasn't home. Home was green, lively, Sandover Village, where you could hear the waves crashing, the seagulls squawking, and the grains of sand grind beneath your feet as you ran along the beach.

A sigh had escaped her lips as she uttered those words. From just the tiniest movement, she gave away everything that she was thinking and feeling. Even in her element, in the age of technology and mechanical innovation, she didn't feel right, or like she belonged. The city could be so cold sometimes, and she never felt at home.

And as though she was reading his mind, Keira murmured in response, "Except for when I'm with you, Jak."

Startled, Jak shook his head, not sure that he had heard her right.

Keira peered up at him, locking with his baby blue eyes through his sandy blonde hair and instantly calmed with the gravity of her words. "Home is with you Jak. It always has been, and it always will be. If we just stick together in this crazy place, we'll be okay."

She snuggled in closer, breathing in rhythm with his own breath, her head bobbing in and out with the rise and fall of his chest. Her heart fluttered, just a tiny bit, and she settled into his strong yet soft embrace. Her own words surprisingly were what she needed to hear herself, and something she had always wanted to tell Jak, who probably needed to hear the same thing. Especially now in this crazy new future-world. She reached over his body and grabbed a hand, reassuringly stroking his thumb, knowing he needed to be held just as much as she did right now.

They both sat there on Keira's workbench in contented silence.

The mood had completely changed in only seconds – from busy, to elated, to somber, and then to here, in this intimate moment. Working for hours upon hours a day didn't leave time for tenderness, especially since neither of them knew where they stood with each other. But they knew, especially in this moment, that they both felt _something._

They couldn't deny how long they had been craving a closer connection like the one they were sharing right now. For all the lack of words in the world and having to rely solely on body language to communicate alone, the one thing they _had_ managed to hide from each other was their deeper feelings towards one another.

Both knew they wanted more and they both didn't know how to go about it.

Jak's breathing almost came to a halt from the impact that Keira's words had had on his heart. Her encouragement always spurred something deep within him; a drive that made him feel like he could do anything. He felt so real in this moment, and it was all because of the blue haired girl in his lap with her steadfast green eyes. Touched, he wanted to reciprocate this same feeling to her. Jak tentatively leaned down, and gave Keira a kiss on her forehead.

The feeling translated well, but Keira's reaction didn't come across that way.

Keira became just as startled as Jak had been by her sentence moments ago - she immediately bolted upright and flushed crimson red. Jak, very embarrassed that he had misread the signs of their conversation wildly started darting his eyes around in an apology. Seeing Keira with a deer-in-the-headlights expression after a minute, he began wildly waving his arms as she touched the place where his lips had been a moment ago; her bright green eyes widening and her carnation-pink lips opened in shock.

Finally coming back down to earth and seeing that Jak thought he had hurt her or scared her in some way, Keira gasped and clambered back over to him.

"No no no wait, Jak, it's okay! Calm down!"

He only shook his head, not wanting to make her feel like he was forcing her to apologize just because his thoughts were unreadable due to his actions (although the flailing was certainly an indicator of some sort of panic…). But to Keira, they were readable. Definitely muddled by his thrashing, but still legible. Even through a flurry of motion, she could still detect the pink flush in his cheeks, a quickened heartbeat, a short breath, and the dilation of those cerulean blue orbs that seemed to know her heart, mind and soul…

Keira had been so shocked by his kiss that she had become speechless. Her mind had become hazy in a day dream seen through rose tinted lenses as she touched the place where his soft lips had met her skin. She hadn't been afraid – she had been craving that touch for as long as she could remember.

But she realized that Jak didn't take her reaction as such. And she couldn't let this moment slip away; he would be too embarrassed to even _look_ at her for the next few days, let alone ever work up the nerve to kiss her again…

Suddenly, knowing that it was now or never, she placed her hands calmingly on his cheeks and as spontaneously as he had a minute ago, pulled his face towards hers for a full-on kiss.

Jak's eyes widened with shock before slowly closing as he melted right into her.

Keira's delicate touch affirmed that everything was okay. His previously spasming body now went rigid like a precursor statue before reality caught up with him. He didn't know what to do with his body, but the one thing he did know for sure was that he wanted to be with her in that moment. His arms fell to his side at first, then tentatively reached up to meet Keira's face. His heart wasn't racing any more – it was calm, and although it felt like it was on fire, her sweetness quenched any blaze that went out of control. It all felt natural, like they had done this before.

Their past moment of confusion was forgotten in the quietness of the garage. The meeting of their lips answered every question that had been swirling in their head, and they both knew that this was right; that this was meant to happen.

Their first kiss was sweet; innocent and pure. A wave of their childhood nostalgia washed over them as they were swept up in past memories of a romantic build up that was never truly completed - usually thanks to a certain orange ottsel - until now. Their lips had locked awkwardly, but their hearts felt just right in that moment. Her lips were soft and reassuring; his were firm and commanding against hers.

Feeling the lingering of the kiss and wanting to avoid any more awkwardness, Keira withdrew and looked up at him.

"You know this only happened because Daxter wasn't here, right?" She abruptly joked.

He grinned and made a goofy expression towards her, shyly pushing her away. He began chuckling, which turned into uncontrollable giggling with the truth of the statement mixed with the high of his first kiss, the pressure of her skin against his still tingling against his lips.

She sheepishly put a hand behind her head, her browned and tattered leather gloves squeaking as she moved.

"Sorry, I uhm… I'm not so good at this…"

Jak shook his head and smiled. His cheeks rose and his eyes twinkled at her, still dazed from the taste of their lips touching only seconds ago.

He gently wrapped an arm around her waist, and she beamed up at him.

Repeating the action that started this all, he brushed that crazy yakow-lick in the middle of her bangs aside, and kissed her forehead – feeling her warmth beneath his strong arms, and her purring in contentment. Knowing what they both wanted now, finally, after so long, he softly gripped her chin, tilted it up towards him and…

The thrumming and sparking of the zoomer in front of them quickly got their attention as it began sputtering and smoking (there's always _something_ to ruin the moment, Keira grumbled internally). Keira sharply yelped and ran to save her latest invention within the malfunctioning machine. She did whatever maneuvering she had to to turn off the modified zoomer engine (Jak had no idea what she was doing at this point and wasn't afraid to pretend like he did) and quickly wiped her brow once the haze had passed. Jak coughed harshly as she did this, using a dirty rag to attempt to fan out the thick fog that had begun brewing underneath the hood.

They laughed together, their composure regained after all the excitement.

Looking towards the clock, they realized that time had passed faster than they had thought, and that it was time to close up shop.

They bumped into each other teasingly as they left the garage, and softly gripped each other's hands underneath the harsh yellow street lamps illuminating the rocky path towards their sleeping quarters. Keira's soft giggling could be heard echoing off the stone walls of the stadium as her and Jak happily walked away, their hearts light and a skip in their step as they ran into the night like they had when they were children.

By the time they had reached their sleeping quarters it was well past supper time. They had cleaned up quickly before deciding that they were too exhausted to cook and wanted to go out.

Lighting up with an idea for a spur of the moment first date, Jak sprinted out the door, hand clasped around Keira as she stumbled to keep up with his incredible speed and spontaneity.

"Where are we going!" She panted heavily. Jak only looked back and gave her an impish grin, all while a hint of mischief sparked in his eyes.

They slid down the stadium stairs, stopping just in front of a food cart. Jak threw up two fingers at the lady behind the stall, who smiled warmly and handed them their food wrapped in cloth.

Keira opened the package up, and was surprised to see a yakow burger underneath. Jak nudged her to try it. Not one to complain about free food, Keira took a nibble before promptly beginning to devour the food, surprised at how delicious it was. Jak followed and hungrily scarfed down the yakow burgers, exhausted by the heat of the shop and a long day's work.

Gulping down her last bite, Keira sighed in content. Cocking her head back towards their sleeping quarters, she asked Jak if he'd like to go home. He only shook his head and plastered that same goofy grin on his face. And she smiled, knowing their night was still filled with adventure. He offered her his hand and swept her away once more.

Jak's feet flew as fast as a lurker shark in water as he leapt over bushes and zig zagged around trees before finding a clearing. Stumbling, Keira had finally caught up with him and doubled over, leather gloves resting on her knees.

"This…?" She panted.

He nodded. Reaching down, he gently plucked a white flower and put it behind Keira's ear. The action forced her to stand upright, but was worth the expenditure of energy, because upon looking up and seeing the rest of the greenery she became breathless with awe.

Glowing bugs rode the gentle air currents that passed through the trees, rustling their leaves as the wind coursed through their branches. Crickets chirped amongst the fallen leaves at her feet, while frogs croaked at the base of the vines covering the city's walls.

"It's beautiful…" She finally managed to utter. Mouth gaping in wonder, Jak silently led her by the hand on a gravel path that wound through the rest of the park.

They went for a midnight stroll in Haven City's gardens. They held hands for a while before Jak sprinted away to catch a glowing butterfly, and Keira knelt down to examine the new, leafy, and very green plant species in the flower beds that seemed vaguely familiar (ferns…like her father's…?).

Seeing that she began to become fixated on the ferns, Jak distracted Keira by abruptly grabbing her hand again and bolting in the direction of an alabaster white fountain. She lightly dipped her toes in, not intending to get wet, but couldn't help it when Jak dove into the fountain canon-ball style. Soaking wet, he playfully splashed Keira with water from the pool at his ankles and beckoned her to come in.

And as they stood there soaking wet, laughing under a shower of droplets, they shared another uninteruppted kiss beneath the white light of the moon and the glittering stars, just as soft and tender as before.

Instead of heading off to their separate rooms that night, Jak followed Keira into her room once they had managed to peel their sopping wet clothes off of themselves and change into appropriate night wear. As they laid down to sleep and relax, they instinctively reached out to each other. Their hands remained locked together until they were woken by the red-orange rays of the rising sun poking through the window, and telling them to get ready for another day at the shop. Looking over at the blonde rascal next to her spread-eagle on her tiny mattress, his plush lips reminding her of their first kiss the day before, she sighed.

The city could feel so cold sometimes…but Keira finally felt like she was home.


End file.
